Knitting machine and method of operating thereof



y 1934- K. R. LIEVBVERKNECHT 1,959,833

KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD OF OPERATING THEREOF Filed Oct. 6, 1931 Inv r 32 k necht By his Att y JW w Patented May 22, 1934- mt STATES PATENT OFFICE KNITTING MACHENE AND METHOD OF OPERATING THEREOF Application October 6, 1931, Serial No. 567,262 In Germany October 10, 1930 6 Claims.

This invention relates to knitting machines and more particularly. to knitting machines of the fiat-bar type and it is an object of this invention to provide an improved construction in a machine of the type described by which the first course may be knit without the use of the so-called welthook bar and it is also an object of this invention to provide animproved method'of knitting the first course. It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved knocking-over bit for use in the improved method of knitting the first course.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a perspective viewshowing a plurality of the knocking-over bits with the first or starting course thereon;

Figure 2 is a partial vertical section of the machine showing the actuating mechanism for the knocking-over movement;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section showing the positions of the needles, sinkers and knockingover bits at the knitting of the first course; and

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3 and showing the positions of the needles, sinkers and knocking-over bits at the knitting of the second course and the completed first course.

As shown in the drawing, needles 3 mounted in the needle bar 26 cooperate with the sinkers 1 arranged between the parts 27 and 28 of the sinker head and with the knocking-over bits 5 carried by the movable frame 18 in the formation of the loops.

The sinkers 1 and needles 3 are operated in the usual manner but for the purposes of this invention special operating means are provided for the frame 18 and the knocking-over bits 5. The frame 18 is pivotally mounted at 20 on a crank 21 carried by a shaft 22. A lever 23 fixed on the shaft 22 carries at its outer end a roller 24 which engages with an eccentric 14. Engaging with the frame 18 is a crank arm 17 fixed on a shaft 15 which is operated by means of a lever arm 16 fixed on the shaft 15 and carrying at its free end a roller 13 which engages with the eccentric 31. While roller 13 normally rides on the surface of the eccentric 31 it can be shifted so as to ride the surface of a smaller eccentric 32 arranged alongside of and operatr ing with the eccentric 31 whereby the roller 13 will not be raised as high as by the eccentric 31. When the rollers 13 and 24 ride the eccentrics 31 and 14 the crank arm 17 is pressed inwardly as the frame 18 is raised so that the knock- 55 ing-over bits take a position with respect to the sinkers 1 and needles 3 as shown in Fig. 3 while when the roller 13 is shifted to the smaller eccentric 32 the movement of the crank arm 17 is not so great when the frame 18 is raised and the knocking-over bits 5 take a position with on respect to the sinkers l and needles 3 as shown in Fig. 4, that is, the frame 18 is moved outwardly by spring 19 and the knocking-over bits 5 project beyond the position held in Fig. 3.

With the parts positioned as in Fig. 2, the thread for the first course is laid along the sinker nibs between the needles and the noses 4 of the sinkers. Movement of the sinkers then forms the thread into loops about the needles as shown in Fig. 3. The needles are then lowered and en- 70 gaged with the loops and the sinker nibs 6 are withdrawn from beneath the loops in the usual Way. At this time the knocking-over bits are so placed that as the loops fall from the sinker nibs 6 they are received on the curved bridges 7 of :5 the knocking-over bits 5 and move down into the throats 8 of the knocking-over bits 5. The roller 13 is then shifted onto the smaller eccentric 32 so that as the loops 10 of the second course are formed about the sinkers 1 and needles 3 the so knocking-over bits 5 are positioned as shown in Fig. 4 and the loops 10 when dropped from the nibs 6 of the sinkers 1 are received on bridges 11, which are of the same curvature as bridges 7, and move down into throats 12 while the loops 55 of the first course are held in throat 8. It will be noted that the outer portions of the bridges 11 are formed as hooks or abutments which serve to retain the loops in the throats 8. The loops of the first and second courses will then be positioned as shown in Fig. 1. One or more courses are knit before the roller 13 is shifted from the smaller eccentric 32 to eccentric 31 and during this time the loops are received on bridges 11 of the knocking-over bits 5. With the return of the roller 13 to the eccentric 31 the bits 5 are positioned to receive the new loops on the bridges '7. The knitting of the additional courses and returning the knocking-over bits from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 3 causes 10s the loops in the throats 8 of the bits 5 to move out of the throats 8 and so that thereafter the loops knocked over on the bridges 7 in the usual way are received in the throat 8.

It is thus seen that by the provision of the additional throats on the knocking-over bits the knitting of an article may be started without the use of the welthook bar. As the initial loops are easily unravelled it is possible to knit a loose course, several courses after the initial course, 11

for the purpose of running the piece of fabric on a looper with another piece of fabric and, by unravelling the courses not desired, to obtain a very clear looped seam. This process may be carried out in the making of hosiery on a single unit machine as described in my copending application Ser. No. 558,811, filed August 22, 1931 Patent No. 1,901,757 where the instep part is held turned backward after having cast off the heel parts while initial loop courses are made on either side of the instep corresponding in length to the sole Width.

What is claimed is: l

1. In a knitting machine having sinkers and needles cooperating in the knitting of a fabric, a knocking over bit cooperating with said sinkers and needles and having a plurality of knocking over surfaces terminating in throats adjacent said surfaces and a hook adjacent one of said throats and operating means for said bit positioning said bit to engage a sinker loop of a first course on one of said knocking over surfaces, said means operating said bit to engage said loop in the adjacent throat in front of said hook and position the other of said knocking over surfaces to engage a sinker loop of a succeeding course.

2. In a knitting machine, sinkers and needles cooperating in the knitting of a fabric, knocking over bits having a plurality of knocking over surfaces cooperating with said sinkers and needles and means operating said bits to receive the sinker loops of a first course on one of said knocking over surfaces and the sinker loops of the succeeding course on the other of said knocking over surfaces, said knocking over bits retaining the sinker loops of said first course adjacent the surfaces on which they were received during the knocking over of the needle loops of a plurality of courses.

3. In a method of knitting a starting course, the steps of engaging a sinker loop of a first course with one of a plurality of knocking over surfaces of a knocking over bit when the loop is removed from the sinker, shifting said knocking over bit to hold said loop adjacent said knocking over surface and receiving the sinker loops of one or more subsequent courses upon another of said knocking over surfaces while retaining the first sinker loop on said bit.

4. In a knitting machine, sinkers and needles cooperating in the knitting of a fabric, knockingover bits cooperating with said sinkers and needles and receiving the loops from the sinkers, said bits having hooks formed thereon and means operating said bits to receive the sinker loops of a first course in advance of said hooks and to receive the sinker loops of one or more subsequent courses on the backs of said hooks and hold the sinker loops of said first course on said hooks during the knocking over of the needle loops of said first course.

5. In a knittingmachine, sinkers and needles cooperating in the knitting of a fabric, knockingover bits cooperating with-said sinkers and needles and receiving the loops from the sinkers, said bits having a plurality of knocking over surfaces and a hook portion intermediate said knocking over surfaces and means operating said bits to present one knocking over surface for receiving the sinker loops of a first course and to present the other of said knocking over surfaces to the sinker loops of one or more succeeding courses, said hooks holding the sinker loops of the first course during the knocking over of the needle loops of a plurality of courses.

6. In the method of producing a starting course on a fiat knitting machine having hooked knocking over bits, the steps of receiving the sinker loops of the first course in front of said hooks, shifting said bits to engage the said loops on the hooks and holding the said loops of the first course on the hooks while the sinker loops of one or more succeeding courses are received in back of the hooks and the needleloops of the first course and one or more succeeding courses are knocked over.

KARL RICHARD LIEBERKNECHT. 

